Children learn by repetition. Count. Play. Repeat. It’s a smart start to math and more. Get three ways to help your child learn math while you play together. Click to see our resource, Play the Way to Math Skills.

Better Beginnings provides tools for teachers and families. Visit our Family Resource Library or Biblioteca de recursos en español for information on child development, tips on topics such as feeding your picky eater or fun activities to spark your child’s interest in math, science and reading.

Welcome to Better Beginnings

Welcome to Better Beginnings

High quality child care and early childhood education set the stage for how well our children learn, how they think of themselves and how they interact with their world. We as parents, child care providers, educators and citizens have a responsibility to make sure all of our children have the very best experiences they can. Better Beginnings, Arkansas’s Quality Rating Improvement System, has been developed to do just that!

Better Beginnings, a program of the Arkansas Department of Human Services, connects Arkansas families with information and care that helps their children experience a safe, happy, healthy childhood. Better Beginnings is designed to improve the level of quality in childcare and early childhood education programs across the state. Better Beginnings distinguishes the quality of each Arkansas child care facility by a 1, 2 and 3-star rating system.